Dashing Student-Chapter 1209: Crisis of Annihilation

The Soul Refining Banner was destroyed, and the pervasive Yin Energy lost its source. Wang Ji suffered backlash, and even the resentful souls he had once absorbed into the Soul Refining Banner now looked at him with hostile eyes.

They wanted to devour their master!

Wang Ji’s face changed dramatically. He turned to flee, but a terrifying gust of wind swept from behind him. Turning his head, he saw a burning fist rapidly enlarge within his pupils.

Bam!

A dull sound rang out. Wang Ji felt as if a massive mountain had slammed into him, sending his body flying violently, unsure of how many bones had broken.

Before he could land, a pitch-black longsword appeared in his vision, causing him to hurriedly throw out a square Iron Plate in front of himself.

The Iron Plate expanded rapidly, stopping when it reached a length and width of a zhang, like a square wall standing in front of him, engraved with runes that emitted a dense light.

This Defensive Spiritual Artifact was of the Seventh Grade. Wang Ji had planned to flee after blocking Chen Nan’s attack, valuing his life over any Blood Life Pills or the Wang Family’s honor.

Unfortunately, his plan was beautiful, but reality terrified him. The Defensive Artifact he had summoned was no better than paper before the Sword Chenyuan, cleaved in half with a single strike!

"Hiss!"

Wang Ji gasped, never expecting his Spiritual Artifact to be so inadequate. The Sword Chenyuan soon struck his body.

The astonishing weight coupled with the sharp blade swept through him, even destroying the Golden Core within him completely with that single strike.

Wang Ji could no longer feel pain as his world spun. Then he saw his blood-spraying lower half; eventually, his world plunged into darkness.

With one sword strike, Wang Ji was killed. The pervasive Yin Energy quickly dissipated. Without the Soul Refining Banner’s constraints, the resentful souls remained dazedly in place.

"Alas, they’re all pitiful." Zhang Yunyi sighed softly, summoning the Peach Wood Sword back to him, then stepped the Four-direction Step, chanting softly.

Chen Nan and Chong Xiao watched silently, knowing that Zhang Yunyi was delivering the resentful souls.

One by one, the resentment faded from the souls’ eyes, revealing relieved expressions as they slowly dissipated between heaven and earth.

...

Just as Zhang Yunyi died, in the ancestral land of the Wang Family, within the ancestral shrine at the main vein’s location, Wang Ji’s Life Plate shattered completely.

Life Plates were made from a cultivator’s hair, nails, Essence Blood, and other materials. When a cultivator dies, their Life Plate shatters.

The Wang Family members watching over the shrine hurried to the guest hall, where the elders and family heads of the Wang Family had already gathered to discuss the survival of their family.

"Elders and family head, Elder Wang Ji’s Life Plate has shattered!"

This meant Wang Ji was already dead, but those at the Wang Family’s top were not too surprised, as this situation had happened several times already.

Several branches of their Wang Family had been completely exterminated by Righteous Cultivators under the banner of acting on behalf of heaven.

Sitting at the top of the guest hall was Wang Lao—real name Wang Long—the former strongman who attacked Chen Nan outside the Ancient Realm Secret Realm and let him escape, now the current head of the Wang Family.

The Wang Teng killed by Chen Nan back then was his most beloved grandson, so he harbored a deep-seated hatred for Chen Nan. Even if Chen Nan escaped, Wang Long still issued a bounty for his assassination at the Yama Hall.

At this moment, Wang Long’s face was as dark as the heavy atmosphere of the guest hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our Wang Family is in a life and death crisis. What are your thoughts?"

An elderly man with white hair spoke, "Elder brother, we must flee. Staying only means awaiting our doom. Let us escape to the Endless Sea and see what those Righteous Cultivators can do!"

Wang Long sneered, "Of course, I know we have to flee, but those Righteous Cultivators have not attacked our Wang Family yet and have sealed four directions. Where would we escape?"

The allied Righteous factions refrained from directly attacking the Wang Family’s ancestral land out of fear of a desperate counterattack from a top power, which would bring unimaginable consequences.

Of course, they were unwilling to let the Wang Family go, nor to abandon the Blood Life Pills already refined.

A middle-aged man stood up, bowed to Wang Long and said, "Father, as things stand, we can only sacrifice some people to serve as bait, while we select the elite to escape at the right moment."

"Only if they live can they avenge our Wang Family!"

These words made everyone in the guest hall turn pale, knowing full well that those sent as bait were merely being sacrificed, with no chance of survival.

Moreover, the bait needed to be weighted enough to prevent anyone from spotting the ruse.

Wang Long nodded slowly, saying heavily, "To keep the spark of our Wang Family alive, there’s no other way. Xiang’er, arrange for the younger generation of our clan—not many, but they must be prodigies of our Wang Family."

He stood up, speaking decisively, "We old bones have lived long enough. If we don’t die, they won’t spare us."

Wang Long’s meaning was clear, essentially sacrificing a large portion of the Wang Family’s lives to allow a small elite group to escape, thereby preserving seeds for revenge.

Otherwise, the entire Wang Family would be buried here.

Wang Xiang nodded, turning to make arrangements.

"We also need to send a few to test the waters. Who is willing to go?" Wang Long asked, scanning the crowd below. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Everyone knew that testing essentially meant sacrificing oneself to seek a path for the Wang Family—certain doom. No one volunteered.

Seeing this made Wang Long sigh deeply. Even as the Wang Family faced life and death, these elders and seniors still lacked the courage to sacrifice for the family.

The Wang Family had flourished for so long that everyone within had lost their edge, valuing life while fearing death, each only concerned with their own interests.

Wang Long could even guess that those in the guest hall were plotting their escapes, intending to plunder the Wang Family before fleeing.

The Wang Family had rotted to its core.

"Wang Yuan, you go, and consider it your last contribution to the family!" Wang Long had to choose someone personally.

The cultivator called upon turned pale but reluctantly stood up under Wang Long’s intimidating gaze. "Alright, I understand."

"Ah, it seems I won’t survive this calamity."

Listening to the complaint, Wang Long’s face became exceedingly grim, pointing at Wang Yuan and sternly reprimanding, "You’ve received so many benefits from the family before, and now you don’t want to give back?"

"Without the family’s support, could you have achieved the Nascent Soul Realm on your own? Now get going, you ungrateful wretch!"

At this moment, Chen Nan’s face suddenly flashed through his mind, leaving him momentarily stunned.